Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cubdriver]

An auction score from the FB group Old Tek Scopes. He didn't state how much in total he paid but he did state that the plug-in's were as little as $8/each. Given the total it still adds up to a significant chunk of change but the total amount of gear is unreal.   

And I thought two Type 547's, five plug-in's and two carts for $200 was a score.   

That is a hell of an impressive haul!  Damn!!

I have a 568/230 measurement combo in my repair queue, but they got shipping damage due to being poorly packed so I haven't really dug into them yet.

I missed out on a 567 years ago at Apex in CA; stupidly didn't ask how much he wanted for it and next time I went it was gone.  Still kicking myself over that one.   

-Pat

[bd139]

So, a dirty secret about me that NOBODY knows, is that in my "day job" life I am a software developer.  As such, my company likes to use something called "Scaled Agile Framework" (or "SAFe"). And so they provide free training on all this, and pay for certification tests related to this.

So by now you're probably wondering "WTF does any of this have to do with test equipment?" And that is a most excellent question. Bear with me, I'm getting to the point.

Anyway, yesterday I took the test to become a "Certified SAFe Scrum Master" (yes, that is a real thing) and since I passed the test, I decided to treat myself with a present of some sort. I've been eyeing a cordless 3/8" drive impact wrench for a while, but I already bought two new cordless tools in the past week or two (a 1/4" drive cordless ratchet, and a cordless rotary (dremel style) tool). Soo... decided "no" on the impact wrench, which left me with only ONE clear and unambiguous choice!

Say hello to my new friend!

Yes, indeed, I finally pulled the trigger on ordering a 121-GW. Now my BM786 will have a companion to keep it company on my bench.  I think that's a nice, wholesome ending to this story.

Every time I sell some more of my soul to satan I also buy something to compensate myself for the pain and suffering.

Note the ephemeral recent bd140 was a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. That basically meant she could rip people off for a higher fee on consulting 

Bought something non-TE today after last week's sacrifice but that's for another forum. Got to drive some distance to collect it because it wasn't in stock anywhere else 

[med6753]

I finally found the issue with the 475A alternate mode and for now it's unfixable. See schematic.

The ALT mode switch is broken and permanently grounded regardless of position which kills the sync pulse. At this point given the complexity to get to that switch I see no sense in trying to fix it unless I have a replacement on hand. And a replacement would mostly likely require a 475A parts mule. So unless one comes across my radar real cheap for now it will remain a usable scope except in ALT mode. And unfortunately I do have a 465 and 465B parts mules but the switch assembly is different. Oh well.

Could you possibly sub a relay controlled by a still working sector of that switch...? 

I've done exactly that on cars where a frightfully expensive multifunction switch had one or two circuits melted out.

mnem
 

Maybe. I've done the same as you with automotive multi-function switches.

But at first glance I'll have to do major disassembly to "cut" the circuit and install a relay. I want to avoid that if possible or I have an exact replacement in hand.   

[Neomys Sapiens]

Oh again ! I did spot this thing, but though to myself hey looks like a nice beefy PSU, didn't know Tek made PSUs, would be cool to find one some day ! 
Yes, a PSU it is indeed, admittedly but ! 
Makes more sense now...
Anyways, a super rare PSU that must be...

Back to TekWiki for you, Vince!
As there is the CPS250 and the PS2510/2511/2520 series. (The PS28x series shall be not mentioned). There is also the 'Engineering Power Supply' and of course the PS modules of the TM500/TM5000 series.
I also thought that there was an earlier one in the 1xx designation range, or maybe an amplifier which could be used as such, but I could be wrong here, as I can't find anything about it.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Buy a bike and replace the seat with something embarrassing:

Oh come on...with the ladies of your aquaintance you would be left with the detached seat faster than you can say 'sybian' three times!

[mnementh]

...Yes, indeed, I finally pulled the trigger on ordering a 121-GW. Now my BM786 will have a companion to keep it company on my bench.  I think that's a nice, wholesome ending to this story.

Every time I sell some more of my soul to Satan I also buy something to compensate myself for the pain and suffering.

Note the ephemeral recent bd140 was a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. That basically meant she could rip people off for a higher fee on consulting 

Bought something non-TE today after last week's sacrifice but that's for another forum. Got to drive some distance to collect it because it wasn't in stock anywhere else 

So you finally gave up & bought yerself a portable electric vagina, a la Paul Krassner's "Tales of Tongue Fu"...? 

Perhaps the wiser choice, given your track record with those of the organic kind, and their owners...

mnem
I recommend a protective layer of Kapton tape...

[Vince]

Oh again ! I did spot this thing, but though to myself hey looks like a nice beefy PSU, didn't know Tek made PSUs, would be cool to find one some day ! 
Yes, a PSU it is indeed, admittedly but ! 
Makes more sense now...
Anyways, a super rare PSU that must be...

Back to TekWiki for you, Vince!
As there is the CPS250 and the PS2510/2511/2520 series. (The PS28x series shall be not mentioned). There is also the 'Engineering Power Supply' and of course the PS modules of the TM500/TM5000 series.
I also thought that there was an earlier one in the 1xx designation range, or maybe an amplifier which could be used as such, but I could be wrong here, as I can't find anything about it.

Nope, none of the above qualifies I am afraid, it's all modern solid state stuff ! 

The pic was about vacuum tube stuff, so I was referring only to PSU's of that era and style/looks.
Looked at all the PSUs listed on Tekwiki and found none that qualify. Well there are a couple but only special purpose ones made to work for a particular piece of Tek TE, just like that big PSU on the pic is meant to work with the 575 curve tracer.

[Vince]

How does the meters indicate teh reading ? They just have scale from 0 to 9 and the needle is moved to the appropriate "digit" ?
Why not just use also column displays for all th 8 digits ?! Plus, the emlters take more space (wider) than the column displays.... or use 8 meters instead... ?!
What's the deal with those meters ?

Yup - they just indicate the reading on the scale.  Haven’t dug into the circuitry of the counter yet, so I don’t know why they went analog on the two lowest digits.



-Pat

Thanks.  Looks like the ones on that pic need some fixing, they kinda display illegal values me think ! 

Factory's ideai about the last two digits being the fastest ones, might be why but.... meter or column display, in either case they aren't doing the counting, only the displaying, it's the counter driving them that handles the speed, not the display... so to me one could use either type of dispaly no matter if it's associated to a fast position or not.... might try to find a service manual for the thing and have a look at that to satisfy my curiosity...

[bd139]

Oh come on...with the ladies of your aquaintance you would be left with the detached seat faster than you can say 'sybian' three times!

Good point 

...Yes, indeed, I finally pulled the trigger on ordering a 121-GW. Now my BM786 will have a companion to keep it company on my bench.  I think that's a nice, wholesome ending to this story.

Every time I sell some more of my soul to Satan I also buy something to compensate myself for the pain and suffering.

Note the ephemeral recent bd140 was a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. That basically meant she could rip people off for a higher fee on consulting 

Bought something non-TE today after last week's sacrifice but that's for another forum. Got to drive some distance to collect it because it wasn't in stock anywhere else 

So you finally gave up & bought yerself a portable electric vagina, a la Paul Krassner's "Tales of Tongue Fu"...? 

Perhaps the wiser choice, given your track record with those of the organic kind, and their owners...

mnem
I recommend a protective layer of Kapton tape...

Alas no. I did actually trip over one of them left in the street a few months back though. Tells you what sort of a classy area I live in 

[Vince]

Chinese Tester Time.

[/img]

You solder your 3 leads onto a 3 pin .1" header which fits into the ZIF socket perfectly.

FIXED !!! 


I just had another look at that drawer full of 0.1" headers and yeah finally found the proper type ! Somehow I missed it the first time....
Don't have much of it though, a quarter of one strip no more.

Now soldered on the cable. Yes that's better now 



DIODES : I was wrong, I was not 100% done... just realized I had forgotten about diode.. BRIDGES !

Have a few of those as well, 33 it looks like. A bit a of everything size and package wise.... some small 4 and 6 pin DIP, small round ones, TO220, big SIL packages, and one big square.

Won't bother googling their datasheet nor list them in my spreadsheet / inventory... it's enough to just open the drawer and pick one of the proper size... if I really need to know, I can always google a particular one, they are very clearly marked, not a problem.

[tggzzz]

How does the meters indicate teh reading ? They just have scale from 0 to 9 and the needle is moved to the appropriate "digit" ?
Why not just use also column displays for all th 8 digits ?! Plus, the emlters take more space (wider) than the column displays.... or use 8 meters instead... ?!
What's the deal with those meters ?

Yup - they just indicate the reading on the scale.  Haven’t dug into the circuitry of the counter yet, so I don’t know why they went analog on the two lowest digits.



-Pat

Thanks.  Looks like the ones on that pic need some fixing, they kinda display illegal values me think ! 

Factory's ideai about the last two digits being the fastest ones, might be why but.... meter or column display, in either case they aren't doing the counting, only the displaying, it's the counter driving them that handles the speed, not the display... so to me one could use either type of dispaly no matter if it's associated to a fast position or not.... might try to find a service manual for the thing and have a look at that to satisfy my curiosity...

They probably are displaying the count, where the count is stored as a voltage.

My Tek 184 time mark generator has /2 and /5 circuits made with three transistors, some resisitors and diodes. Each input pulse deposits a glug of charge on a capacitor thus increasing the voltage. When a threshold is reached, the capacitor is discharged and a glug is deposited on the next counter. Input 10MHz, output 5s, in 1-5-10 stages.

BD even simulated and implemented it... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2678745/?topicseen#msg2678745

[tautech]

BRIDGES !

Have a few of those as well, 33 it looks like. A bit a of everything size and package wise.... some small 4 and 6 pin DIP, small round ones, TO220, big SIL packages, and one big square.

They'll all be double diodes right, so technically not a bridge. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

Oh again ! I did spot this thing, but though to myself hey looks like a nice beefy PSU, didn't know Tek made PSUs, would be cool to find one some day ! 
Yes, a PSU it is indeed, admittedly but ! 
Makes more sense now...
Anyways, a super rare PSU that must be...

Back to TekWiki for you, Vince!
As there is the CPS250 and the PS2510/2511/2520 series. (The PS28x series shall be not mentioned). There is also the 'Engineering Power Supply' and of course the PS modules of the TM500/TM5000 series.
I also thought that there was an earlier one in the 1xx designation range, or maybe an amplifier which could be used as such, but I could be wrong here, as I can't find anything about it.

Nope, none of the above qualifies I am afraid, it's all modern solid state stuff ! 

The pic was about vacuum tube stuff, so I was referring only to PSU's of that era and style/looks.
Looked at all the PSUs listed on Tekwiki and found none that qualify. Well there are a couple but only special purpose ones made to work for a particular piece of Tek TE, just like that big PSU on the pic is meant to work with the 575 curve tracer.

In that case, this one should qualify, I think:
https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Engineering_Power_Supply

[Cerebus]

As such, my company likes to use something called "Scaled Agile Framework" (or "SAFe").

Is that the one where you scale to the top of the agile framework (some sort of climbing frame), leap off, and have to trust your colleagues to catch you? 

Anyway, yesterday I took the test to become a "Certified SAFe Scrum Master"

The only way to be a safe scrum master is to learn to run faster than your coworkers when they inevitably come chasing you with the pitchforks and blazing torches. 

[Cerebus]

Mmmm. Pie...

You, Sir, are a bastard. Now I feel a hankering for pork pie, which must be left tragically unsatisfied!

There's just something about a pork pie, something quintessentially British, that means nobody else ever gets it quite right. You'd think that in Germany, the natural home of Schweinefleisch that something equally as good that fits the same niche would have evolved, but sadly it has not.

I'd post you one, a proper Melton Mowbray, but hoping that a pork pie would survive the Royal Mail, German customs, and hungry Deutsche Post workers would be beyond reason.

[mnementh]

mnem
So... no chance of sneaking one to a poor lost dwagon in New England, ehhh...? You could say that bucket-head George person ate it...

[Neomys Sapiens]

I just had another look at that drawer full of 0.1" headers and yeah finally found the proper type ! Somehow I missed it the first time....
Don't have much of it though, a quarter of one strip no more.

Tell me which was the type - both sides square or both sides cylindrical contacts?

[mindcrime]

Is that the one where you scale to the top of the agile framework (some sort of climbing frame), leap off, and have to trust your colleagues to catch you? 

I wouldn't trust my colleagues to catch me any sooner than I'd trust you lot to do so!

[mnementh]

As such, my company likes to use something called "Scaled Agile Framework" (or "SAFe").

Is that the one where you scale to the top of the agile framework (some sort of climbing frame), leap off, and have to trust your colleagues to catch you? 

Anyway, yesterday I took the test to become a "Certified SAFe Scrum Master"

The only way to be a safe scrum master is to learn to run faster than your coworkers when they inevitably come chasing you with the pitchforks and blazing torches. 

All I heard after listening to all that psychobabble was "sacrificial element". 

mnem
Give blood: Play Rugby.

[mnementh]

Last knob of the set. Think maybe I cut it a leetle beet close... 

mnem
mooo...?

[mnementh]

Mmmm. Pie...

You, Sir, are a bastard. Now I feel a hankering for pork pie, which must be left tragically unsatisfied!

There's just something about a pork pie, something quintessentially British, that means nobody else ever gets it quite right. You'd think that in Germany, the natural home of Schweinefleisch that something equally as good that fits the same niche would have evolved, but sadly it has not.

I'd post you one, a proper Melton Mowbray, but hoping that a pork pie would survive the Royal Mail, German customs, and hungry Deutsche Post workers would be beyond reason.

Do me a flavor, C... scope these guys out:

https://parkersbritishinstitution.com/product/1-lb-melton-mowbray-pork-pie

Site looks like a couple young upstarts and a boutique website... but if I can get a shade of the taste of a proper pork pie or fission fish & chips... I might spring for a order big enuf for free shipping, or add them to the itinerary & swing around that way next time I'm in New York.

mnem
 

[TERRA Operative]

Given the current microchip shortage and the value of 2ndhand cars going skywards, how can we safeguard our cars from stolen to order and shipped to Nigeria and other dodgy destinations, as this video shows. This is a serious question, with the car manufacturers being generally reluctant to tackle the problem head on, as pointed out in this video by the Canadian Police? Steering locks etc are not a solution, so any ideas that could be made to work?

youtube.com/watch?v=gshyozP-GY8

Yeah drive something that no one wants to nick.

Or stick some immobilizer in it that is too much trouble to overcome quickly.
We had terrible trouble here in NZ for a while with older Hiace vans and Hilux utes being stolen and shipped onto the Pacific islands.

I simply pop the bonnet and pull the ignition wire that feeds the distributor cap, thieves rarely travel with a truck load of spare parts, only their tablet these days ! 

Try doing that with a diesel powered car.

I never said my solution was universal either !

I don't know, pull the plug that feeds the fuel delivery cut-off solenoid at the back of the pump ! 

Or just install a hub for removable steering wheel and walk away with it !

Not convenient I hear you say ? Well every motorbike rider I knew at work, all took their big helmet with them and put it onto their desk ... and you don't hear them bitching about it 

That's what I did in my little supercharged import rice-burner (1993 Toyota Corolla GTZ Levin) when I lived in Australia. 


Also, Got the 3478A all buttoned up and working last night.
I have another one too, but it needs one of those damned U102 input hybrid chips and a replacement front/rear input selector switch that sits on top of the hybrid. Anyone got a scrapped 3478A they want to sell parts from? 

[Cubdriver]

How does the meters indicate teh reading ? They just have scale from 0 to 9 and the needle is moved to the appropriate "digit" ?
Why not just use also column displays for all th 8 digits ?! Plus, the emlters take more space (wider) than the column displays.... or use 8 meters instead... ?!
What's the deal with those meters ?

Yup - they just indicate the reading on the scale.  Haven’t dug into the circuitry of the counter yet, so I don’t know why they went analog on the two lowest digits.



-Pat

Thanks.  Looks like the ones on that pic need some fixing, they kinda display illegal values me think ! 

Factory's ideai about the last two digits being the fastest ones, might be why but.... meter or column display, in either case they aren't doing the counting, only the displaying, it's the counter driving them that handles the speed, not the display... so to me one could use either type of dispaly no matter if it's associated to a fast position or not.... might try to find a service manual for the thing and have a look at that to satisfy my curiosity...

I suspect that they are center-zero meters - note the dot at center scale - perhaps a reference for setting the mechanical zero point.  I haven't found a manual for it yet (haven't dug too deeply into it so far) but will learn more once I can locate something.  Have an evil bay search up, but figure finding a hardcopy will be a very long shot.

-Pat

[Zucca]

I need a nice PSU capable of 400A@5V so max 2KW, any suggestion? Must have a GPIB or somthing I can remote control it with a PC and log the data.

EDIT: also 100A@5V could do the job...

Found it...

A little crusty but 6671A yummy

[Cerebus]

Mmmm. Pie...

You, Sir, are a bastard. Now I feel a hankering for pork pie, which must be left tragically unsatisfied!

There's just something about a pork pie, something quintessentially British, that means nobody else ever gets it quite right. You'd think that in Germany, the natural home of Schweinefleisch that something equally as good that fits the same niche would have evolved, but sadly it has not.

I'd post you one, a proper Melton Mowbray, but hoping that a pork pie would survive the Royal Mail, German customs, and hungry Deutsche Post workers would be beyond reason.

Do me a flavor, C... scope these guys out:

https://parkersbritishinstitution.com/product/1-lb-melton-mowbray-pork-pie

Site looks like a couple young upstarts and a boutique website... but if I can get a shade of the taste of a proper pork pie or fission fish & chips... I might spring for a order big enuf for free shipping, or add them to the itinerary & swing around that way next time I'm in New York.

mnem
 

Yeah, right.

Every Englishman knows that the finest pork pies come from the pretty Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray. We’ve based ours on the age-old Melton recipe. It’s handcrafted with uncured cuts of traditionally seasoned, peppery British pork, encased in a thick, hot-water crust pastry. The pastry is made to a secret recipe, passed down through the family from a Yorkshire butcher.

So, is it a Yorkshire recipe, or a Melton Mowbray one, because it can't be both. Can't say I like all the air inside the pie either, that does not speak of one who knows their craft. Moreover, "Melton Mowbray Pork Pie" is a protected origin designation. So, as far as the UK ,and probably still the EU, are concerned they're breaking the law as I assume that they're making these in Buffalo. What are they going to sell next, Parma Ham from Maine, Champagne from Idaho, and Dijon Mustard from Louisiana? It might be one thing to claim that they follow the Melton Mowbray tradition, but quite another to bill it up front as a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie. Also the filling looks very pink for uncured pork for a full 1lb pie, the real thing is quite grey with only perhaps a tinge of pink.

Oh and "secret recipe"? Boil lard in hot water, add  flour and salt , mix vigorously, turn out and knead briefly. In "bakers percent": 35% water, 30% lard, 1% salt. Resultant pasty should be able to be raised into a pie shape around a former (called a dolly) while still hot and stand up on its own without the dolly once cooled.  Not much of a secret.

I'd avoid. See if you can find someone over there selling the real thing. Dickinson and Morris (www.porkpie.co.uk) is a respectable mass manufacturer of said comestibles and thus likely to be big enough to possibly have some export trade.

If you're minded to make your own the trick, as with traditional British sausages, is that if it looks like you've got way too much pepper in your seasoning, enough that you're thinking "Did I misread the recipe?", you've probably got it right.